Anybody come across these? Here
My husband was just trying to play no VII from book 1 and quoted the mnemonic, so I thought I'd look them up...
who is playing which ones out there?

I'm still only on "He went to town in a hat that made all the people stare"

Not such a stuffy old gent was he? I use Ebenezer Prout books every week. His books on harmony, counterpoint and fugue are really well written, but easier to read if one has some prior knowledge first. They would be heavy going otherwise.

No. 24 from the WTC is great, if anyone knows the shape of the motif: 'The man was very drunk, as to and fro, from left to right, across the road he staggered' .

I have never laughed so much in my life, whilst I had heard of Ebenzer, I hadn't come across those before.

My favourite fugue is clearly 'she cut her throat with a paperknife that had no handle' in F#minor (Book 2) !

I just have to go through the lot now with the music , when I should be working

Great fun - I think I've only come across "John Sebastian Bach sat upon a tack" before.

There is a rejoinder to these, a comment on Prout's ideas, using the subject of the Great G minor organ fugue ...

"old Ebenezer Prout, you are a funny man,
what on earth inspired your silly little plan,
you make Bach's fugues as nasty as you can."

which seems a bit harsh given the humour of the ones in the original posting! but maybe there was a particularly bad edition of the G minor by him that inspired the comments.

No.22 from book two is quite amusing.

O, dear! What shall I do? It's utterly impossible for me to learn this horrid fugue! I give it up!
[Countersubject] It ain't no use! It ain't a bit of good! Not a bit! No, not a bit!, No, not a bit!

Yes thats the fugue from Fantasia & Fugue in G Minor rather than the Prelude and Fugue BVW535.
It fits perfectly, and is very apt. Its an FRCO job that fugue is ! When I was only 15 I was asked to play that Fantasia and Fugue before a wedding !! I got through it , but not very well!

I can't stop giggling!! Which one shall I play next???
It just is so funny!

They're great, I will now spend far too much time going through WTC I.

Yes- sorry, that's the one. I should have quoted the bwv number. It does fit rather well, doesn't it?

Are the mnemonics for the rhythm or what?

I don't know any of the fugues at all really I'll have to see if I can look recordings of one or two out, I'm sad to be missing the jokes!